AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-39-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ORGAN AND TISSUE DONORS AND REQUESTING DONATIONS, IN ORDER TO FACILITATE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO AMEND SECTION 41-39-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DIRECT THE COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION REGARDING ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

(a) "Potential organ donor" means a patient with a severe neurological insult who exhibits loss of cranial nerve response or who has a Glasgow Coma Scale score of five (5) or less.

(b) "Potential tissue donor" means any patient who dies due to cardiac arrest.

(c) "Organ procurement organization" means the federally designated agency charged with coordinating the procurement of human organs in the State of Mississippi for the purpose of transplantation and research.

(d) "Tissue bank" or "tissue procurement organization" means a not-for-profit agency certified by the Mississippi State Department of Health to procure tissues, other than solid organs, in the State of Mississippi.

(2) Before November 1, 1998, each licensed acute care hospital in the state shall develop, with the concurrence of the hospital medical staff and the organ procurement organization, a protocol for identifying all potential organ and tissue donors. The protocol shall include a procedure for family consultation.

(3) The protocol shall require each hospital to contact the organ procurement organization by telephone when a patient in the hospital becomes either a potential organ donor or potential tissue donor as defined in this section. The organ procurement organization shall determine the suitability of the patient for organ or tissue donation after a review of the patient's medical history and present condition. The organ procurement organization representative shall notify the attending physician or designee of its assessment. The hospital shall note in the patient's chart the organ procurement organization's assessment of suitability for donation. The organ procurement organization representative shall provide information about donation options to the family or persons specified in Section 41-39-35 when consent for donation is requested.

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(4) If the patient becomes brain dead and is still suitable as a potential donor, the organ procurement organization representative shall approach the deceased patient's legal next of kin or persons specified in Section 41-39-35 for consent to donate the patient's organs. The organ procurement organization representative shall initiate the consent process with reasonable discretion and sensitivity to the family's circumstances, values and beliefs.

To discourage multiple requests for donation consent, the organ procurement organization representative shall make a request for tissue donation during the organ donation consent process. When the possibility of tissue donation alone exists, a tissue bank representative or their designee may request the donation.

(5) The option of organ donation shall be made to the deceased patient's family upon the occurrence of brain death and while mechanical ventilation of the patient is in progress.

The protocol shall require that the decision to donate be noted in the patient's medical record. The organ procurement organization shall provide a form to the hospital for the documentation. The form shall be signed by the patient's family pursuant to Sections 41-39-31 through 41-39-51. The form shall be placed in each deceased patient's chart documenting the family's decision regarding donation of organs or tissues from the patient.

(6) Performance improvement record reviews of deceased patients' medical records shall be conducted by the organ procurement organization for each hospital having more than ninety-five (95) licensed acute care beds and general surgical capability. These reviews must be performed in the first four (4) months of a calendar year for the previous calendar year. If the organ procurement organization and hospital mutually agree, the performance improvement record reviews may be performed more frequently. Aggregate data concerning these reviews shall be submitted by the organ procurement organization to the State Department of Health by July 1 of each year for the preceding year.

(7) * * * No organ or tissue recovered in the State of Mississippi may be shipped out of the state * * * except through an approved * * * organ sharing network or, at the family's request, to an approved organ transplant program.

(8) Any hospital, administrator, physician, surgeon, nurse, technician, organ procurement organization, tissue procurement organization or donee who acts in good faith to comply with this section shall not be liable in any civil action to a claimant who alleges that his consent for the donation was required.

(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or revoke, by implication or otherwise, any valid gift of the entire body to a medical school.

41-39-53. (1) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall adopt and implement a program by which anatomical organ donors may be so identified by an appropriate decal, sticker or other marking to be affixed to the driver's license of such person.

(2) The commissioner shall provide space on every application for a driver's license or renewal thereof in which the applicant may indicate his desire to have such marking on his driver's license. In addition, any person whose license has not expired or who has already obtained a license may have such marking affixed by the commissioner upon request.

(3) The commissioner shall publish the existence of such program along with information regarding the procedures for having such marking affixed to a license.

(4) The commissioner shall notify his counterparts in each of the other states as to the existence of the program and the significance of the marking.

(5) No provision of this section shall be construed to modify or repeal any provisions of the Anatomical Gift Law, Section 41-39-31 et seq., and the actual donation of such anatomical organ shall be in conformity with and subject to all provisions of the Anatomical Gift Law.

(6) The commissioner shall distribute information about organ and tissue donation to each location where drivers' licenses are applied for or renewed. This information shall be made available to the commissioner by the organ procurement organization as defined in Section 41-39-15.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after May 1, 1998.